He and his accomplice(s) appear to have detailed knowledge of the back roads in Signal Mountain. Investigators believe that the killer is a local resident. This sighting occurred a quarter of a mile from the bluff where the ATVs were discovered. She was driving a light-colored Chevrolet. She told the witness that an accident was blocking the road. At the same time that the pickup was spotted, another eyewitness saw a woman frantically trying to stop traffic near Roberts Mill Road. Suspects: An eyewitness told police that he saw two men in a pickup truck on Roberts Mill Road, the same night the men disappeared. As a result, they are reluctant to come forward with information about this case. The residents of Signal Mountain fear that the killer is part of their small community. Investigators are convinced that the killer is a local resident. It is believed that if the bodies were found on Monday instead of on Wednesday, the crime scene at "the gate" would have never been found. Investigators believe that the killer wanted the bodies to be found first, in order to prevent the actual crime scene from ever being discovered. They believe that the killer disposed of the ATVs, returned to the crime scene, retrieved the bodies, and dumped them as well. After the murders, it is believed that the killer carefully covered up the crime scene and then disposed of the other evidence, possibly with the help of an accomplice. However, the killer caught up with him and shot him through the heart. Earl was killed last he was shot in the right shoulder and attempted to get away. Richard was killed next he was shot once in the chest. Kenneth was believed to have been shot first he was shot in the left side of the head. It is believed that the men were riding on the dirt roads when they were confronted by the killer at "the gate". The bodies were dumped by Suck Creek Road, eleven miles from the crime scene.īased on the physical evidence, investigators have reconstructed the crime. The ATVs were discovered several miles southeast, by Roberts Mill Road. The murder site was three miles north of the Mason home. Investigators tried to make sense of the evidence, which was scattered over a large area. Two days later, at a dump site eleven miles from the crime scene, their bodies were discovered. They were certain that the men had been killed. Brain tissue and bone fragments were found at the scene. Investigators were certain that the area near "the gate" was the crime scene. A pocketknife belonging to Kenneth was also found on the ground nearby. Then, they found a pool of blood which had been covered by some leaves. Nearby, they found what appeared to be drag marks on the ground. A short distance away, just off the road, they discovered a spot of blood on a fallen branch. These types of insects are normally attracted to decaying flesh. One of the investigators noticed that a green fly landed on his hand. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until they approached "the gate", an area posted with no trespassing signs. They found ATV tire tracks on the ground. The next morning, investigators searched the area where the shots had been fired. He said that he had heard the shots near an area known as "the gate". As they retrieved the ATVs, a Signal Mountain resident approached them and said that he had heard gunshots the night before. Investigators arrived at the scene and connected the discovery to the missing men. As he looked into a trash dump at the bottom of a nearby bluff, he noticed three ATVs covered with blood. Fearing foul play, their friends and families began searching.Ī few hours later, a local resident stopped to check a bad tire on Roberts Camp Road, five miles from the Mason home. Their families were concerned they were experienced ATV riders and two had rode in the Tennessee backwoods many times before. By the next morning, they had not returned. At 6pm, they left the Mason home on their ATVs. Richard's wife, Martha, recalled that they were eager to head out, as they still had a few hours of daylight left. Earl Smock, and his forty-nine-year-old father-in-law, Richard Mason, planned to ride their ATVs on the trails around Signal Mountain near Chattanooga, Tennessee. On the evening of July 9, 1988, twenty-two-year-old Airman First Class Kenneth Griffith, his twenty-three-year-old friend, Sgt.
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